With Thursday's shake-up of his Cabinet done and dusted, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has delivered an apparent message to the public and political heavyweights in Nagatacho, the heart of Japan's central government.
The message: no more scandals, no more unscrupulous politicians and only political veterans with proven track records, observers said.
"It's a stable, heavyweight lineup," a high-ranking government official close to Abe said Wednesday when asked about his new Cabinet.